The ‘Game of Thrones’ Coffee Cup Has Mysteriously Vanished

There was a lot of stuff going on last weekend on Game of Thrones, but all that anyone wants to talk about was the coffee cup that randomly appeared in a shot in front of Daenerys. And not, like a flagon of coffee, or something. This was like a paper Starbucks coffee cup. Not the most period-appropriate detail.

The moment went so viral, that HBO actually acknowledged it, putting out the following statement via a press release:

In response to inquiries from those who saw a craft services coffee cup in Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones, HBO states, ‘The latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea.’

But even as they had a little fun with the coffee cup, they quietly removed it from the episode. Here’s the moment from the episode “The Last of the Starks,” at around 17 minutes and 40 seconds, when the cup originally appeared on the table by Daenerys:

HBO

And if you look at the same moment in the same episode on HBO GO right now, here’s what you’ll find:

HBO

Nothing! Did Thanos snap his fingers again? What is happening?

The fact that the coffee cup was removed so quickly and quietly shows you just how easily it should have been to remove it in post-production before anyone saw it — and no one did. How many people signed off on this episode without spotting that darn cup? 5? 10? 100? It has to be more than a few. Game of Thrones’ final season continues on Sunday on HBO.